Wholesale Sales & Demand Planning Specialist

Location: Bangkok, Thailand

Reports To: Managing Director

Employment Type: Full-Time, Senior Role

About KADOKAWA AMARIN

KADOKAWA AMARIN is the Thai subsidiary of KADOKAWA, a leading Japanese ACG (Anime, Comic, Game) content publisher listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange (Stock Code: 9468). The company operates a diverse portfolio of businesses, including book publishing, anime production and distribution, game development, e-books, and merchandising. As part of a global entertainment group, KADOKAWA AMARIN connects Japanese ACG content with the Thai market, offering dynamic career opportunities in a fast-growing industry. Team members collaborate across media and formats, supporting the expansion of popular titles and franchises in Thailand.

Role Objective & Mission

We are seeking a highly analytical and strategic Wholesale Sales & Demand Planning Specialist to join our team. This is a high-impact Individual Contributor (IC) position designed for a driven professional who aspires to grow into a Supply Chain Management role.

Your ultimate mission is to drive sustainable wholesale sales growth while optimizing inventory efficiency across the business. By leveraging data analytics and market intelligence, you will maximize sales opportunities, prevent stockouts, maintain optimal inventory levels, and improve the accuracy of our reprint decisions. As you master these responsibilities, you will be positioned as a prime candidate for future leadership within our Supply Chain operations.

Key Responsibilities

Inventory Monitoring & Backlist Replenishment

●      Prevent Stockouts: Continuously monitor customer inventory levels and trends to prevent out-of-stock scenarios and capture all sales opportunities.

●      Optimize Replenishment: Recommend timely replenishment orders for low-stock items across wholesale channels.

●      Capitalize on Media Trends: Ensure adequate inventory levels of backlist titles, previous volumes, and entire series during key demand spikes (e.g., new volume releases, anime broadcast adaptations, or sudden viral attention).

●      Maximize Series Sales: Propose additional orders to guarantee customers have access to complete series, maximizing the lifetime sales potential of our catalog.

Demand Forecasting & New Release Order Proposals

●      Determine Initial Quantities: Analyze and recommend data-backed initial order quantities for wholesale customers for all new title releases.

●      Conduct Comprehensive Assessments: Develop accurate demand forecasts by evaluating a multitude of factors, including:

•   Historical sales performance and customer inventory data.
• Popularity and sales performance in the Japanese market.
• Upcoming media adaptations (anime, films, television series).
• The author's track record and franchise recognition.
• Internal promotional plans and marketing commitment to the title.
• Market trends and potential demand specific to the Thai market.
• Sales performance of comparable titles within the same genre.

Cross-Functional Collaboration & Reprint Strategy

●      Bridge Sales and Production: Serve as the crucial operational link between the Sales and Production Planning departments.

●      Guide Reprint Decisions: Support internal reprint decisions by integrating market demand signals with internal inventory planning.

●      Analyze Costs vs. Demand: Review remaining internal inventory, forecast future demand, estimate expected wholesale orders, and analyze the balance between reprint costs and required print quantities to ensure maximum profitability.

Qualifications & Skills

●      Experience: A minimum of 3–5 years of experience with a proven track record in demand planning, inventory management, supply chain analytics, or B2B/wholesale sales forecasting, including demonstrated experience in presenting to and communicating with both internal and external stakeholders.

●      Leadership Potential: A proactive, ownership-driven mindset with a strong desire to develop into a Supply Chain Manager.

●      Industry Knowledge: Familiarity with the publishing industry, manga/light novel market, and anime pop-culture trends in Thailand and Japan is highly preferred.

●      Analytical Skills: Strong ability to translate complex data (historical sales, market trends, franchise popularity) into actionable business recommendations and strategic orders.

●      Technical & AI Proficiency: Advanced proficiency in Microsoft Excel (VLOOKUP, Pivot Tables, forecasting models) and hands-on experience with ERP or inventory management systems. Must have the ability to incorporate Generative AI and AI agents into day-to-day workflows to streamline processes, enhance data analysis, and maximize overall operational efficiency.

●      Soft Skills & Languages: Fluency in both English and Thai. Excellent communication and cross-functional collaboration skills, with the ability to confidently present data-backed proposals to management and external wholesale partners. Fluency in Japanese is a big plus. 

●      Education: Bachelor's degree in the business related field. Advanced degrees in the business administration, marketing, finance and supply chain management is a big plus.